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Why Are We Doing This?

It’s well known that women are underrepresented in front of and behind the camera. Behind the scenes, men dominate the positions of producer, writer, and particularly director. On screen, white males are presented in proportions that don’t accurately reflect population statistics where there is a higher percentage of women plus people of color. Finally, women are more likely to have smaller, non-starring roles and be cast as sidekick, girlfriend, mother, etc. and/or be included for their looks.

​You may be familiar with the Bechdel test which some use as a benchmark for women-friendliness. It includes three criteria: there has to be at least two women in a movie or show, who talk to each other, about something other than a man.

The Bechdel test is a great start but we think it’s too limited. So we’ve developed a more comprehensive 10 point system. Our ratings fall into three categories:

The number of women in leadership roles behind the camera
The make-up of the female leads including racial diversity, LGBTQ representation, and women of a “certain age”
How the lead women are portrayed on screen
Once we tested our criteria on a lot of shows and movies, we determined a minimum score for movies and shows that we think indicates a good amount of women focus. For movies, it’s a 5.5 and for television it’s 7. Why the disparity in the numbers? Right now, television is a better place for women. There are more women behind the camera and their depiction on screen is more well-developed.

You may be thinking, great, you’ve provided a rating. Now what? Now, go and show your support for those titles deemed worthy of your time and money!

Go to movies with a score of 5.5 or higher in the theater, on opening weekend, on Friday night.

Watch, purchase, rent, and subscribe to services with television shows scoring 7 or higher.

Then, show your support on social media so your friends know what to support too!

Maybe you’re thinking, what good will that do? Well, higher box office and ratings numbers for women-driven movies and shows lead to more getting made. Also, more women in key positions behind the camera, lead to more women on screen, for more time, and in more positive depictions.

We invite you to join us on our mission to see women better represented in television and movies.

Please let us know what you think and we’d love to hear your suggestions for making gender equality in the entertainment industry a reality. Email us at pictureparietyinfo@gmail.com.